Police question K Savita at SCB hospital. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, April 18: A couple from Jajpur district have alleged that their baby boy was swapped with a girl child at SCB Medical College and Hospital.

The couple, Laxman Behera, 34, and his wife Urmila, 32, have lodged a complaint with the SCB medical police outpost and the matter is being investigated.

This is the second time that a child swapping allegation has been made at the hospital. In 2012, a couple from Nishintkohili had alleged that their baby boy was swapped. However, the allegations were later proved to be wrong from a DNA test following high court orders.

In the latest incident, the couple from Jajpur, who have a girl child, alleged that the nurses inside the labour room swapped their baby boy because another woman, whose family members were told that she had given birth to female child, was later handed over a male child.

Laxman said the other woman, K. Savita of Cuttack, gave birth to a child at midnight. The nurses inside the labour room had informed her family members that she delivered a girl child. Later, his wife Urmila was taken inside the labour room where she delivered a child around 1.30am today.

“We suspect our baby boy has been swapped with a girl child and we have registered a police complainant in this regard,” said Laxman.

On the other hand, Savita’s husband K. Kuna, 41, said the allegations were baseless because his wife was informed by the nurses that she had delivered a male child. “After the delivery, the child was kept inside the warmer and was shifted to the ward around 1am today,” said Kuna.

Savita said her’s was a caesarian delivery and the nurses had informed her that she had delivered a male child and there was no question of any exchange.

Authorities of the SCB refuted allegations levelled by the couple from Jajpur.

“We had conducted an inquiry and from the records it is clear that there has been no swapping of babies inside the labour room,” said superintendent Shayama Kanungo. He said a similar allegation has been made against the hospital last year, which was later proved wrong.

Since the 2012 incident, the hospital had taken steps to avoid such allegations, including the introduction of a tagging system and keeping footprints of the newborns. The entry tickets and other documents of a pregnant women from admission to discharge is also being maintained, Kanungo said.